These easy baked chicken tenders with roasted red pepper dipping sauce are made with just six ingredients! They’re coated with a mixture of quinoa and GO Veggie! lactose free parmesan for tons of healthy flavor.
I’ve been running around like crazy this week. It’s been so gorgeous out on the weekends that the last thing I want to do is housework… which means that I have even more to tackle during the week than normal. I’m so behind right now and I’ll admit it – my kitchen is a total disaster.
It’s times like these that I like to turn to sheet pan dinners like roast sausage with apples and parsnips, vegetables with tahini-almond sauce, or good old fashioned chicken fingers and french fries. Dinners like these make minimal mess and are super easy. Plus, since they don’t require a lot of TLC I can take advantage of the time they’re in the oven to get caught up on dishes or whatever else needs attention.
Instead of coating these chicken fingers with breadcrumbs, I used leftover quinoa! I’ve been making a big pot of it every Sunday to use throughout the week in salads and as a side dish, but it turns out that it also makes an amazing coating for recipes like this one.
Since the quinoa is so mild on its own, I added plenty of GO Veggie! lactose free parmesan to ramp up the flavor. Like the quinoa, the parmesan is gluten free. It also has less calories and fat and twice the calcium of traditional parmesan cheese.
When it coms to dipping sauces for chicken fingers, I’m usually a honey or hot sauce kind of girl but since these have such a prominent parmesan flavor, my go-to sauces don’t really go. I love whipping up a simple sauce by blending marinara and roasted red peppers. The flavor is mellow and super delicious. They’re also great dipped in pesto or your favorite pasta sauce.
If you love chicken fingers as much as I do, be sure to also check out my buttermilk chicken tenders. They’re brined in buttermilk to make them extra juicy! Tired of chicken? You’ll love my spicy steak fingers, made in your air fryer.
Ingredients
- ½ cup cooked quinoa chilled
- ¼ cup GO Veggie! Lactose-Free Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken tenders trimmed
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 1 jar 7 ounces roasted red peppers
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat and spray it with cooking spray.
- In a shallow dish, mix together the quinoa and parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Brush the chicken tenders with olive oil, then press them into the quinoa mixture, coating them well. Place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spritz the top of the chicken with cooking spray.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to carefully flip the chicken fingers over; bake an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cook 2-3 minutes before removing form the baking sheet.
- To make the dipping sauce, add the marinara sauce and roasted red peppers to a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve at room temperature or warm in a saucepan set over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
I made this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs and topped with tomato paste, sliced avocado and chopped shallots (green onions). Was delicious!
Totally trying this recipe, my kids would love it and never know the difference.
Using quinoa is such a great idea. Extra nutrition and an added crunch level. Perfect 🙂
I have recently started a food sharing site and would love to have you submit your recipes.
What a genius idea! I definitely trying this recipe!